* * *
Mason glanced around as he walked out of the examining room with Trevor at his side. Lexie was nowhere to be seen, probably off treating another patient, he guessed. Good. He was a little embarrassed by the fact that Dr. Marcus had given Trevor the same diagnosis and medical advice that she had.
“No shooting hoops for you for at least a week. Your arm needs some R & R,” Dr. Marcus said, following them out of the tiny room.
Trevor shrugged and mumbled an inaudible agreement.
“Trevor.” Mason bumped him gently.
With a sigh, Trevor met Dr. Marcus’s eyes. “Yes, sir,” he said. “No shooting hoops for a week. Got it.”
“And?” Mason urged.
Trevor grinned. “Thank you, Dr. Marcus. And that other doctor lady, too.”
Dr. Marcus laughed. “You’re very welcome, Trevor. Anytime.”
Mason was as proud of his teaching the kids at the Teen Center as he was of putting out fires and helping kittens out of trees. “I’ll take you home,” he said, his gaze falling on the rectangular bulge in Trevor’s front pocket. “And we’ll talk on the way there.”
“Hey, Mason,” Dr. Marcus called as they started to leave. “The clinic’s open house is next weekend. I was hoping you’d help.”
“Help?” Mason turned back to look at the older doctor.
“Well, I know you’re trying to raise money for the Teen Center. You could set up something outside to raise money for your group and to draw people in for us. It would help with the clinic’s outreach efforts, as well.”
Mason considered this. It wasn’t the clinic that he had a problem with. Dr. Marcus was a great doctor and he’d told Mason just now in light conversation that other experienced doctors from Carolina Medical would be volunteering their time here, too, in the coming weeks. It was really just the inexperienced physicians that Mason didn’t trust. Mason glanced around the room for Lexie, not seeing her. “I wanted to talk to you in more depth about those outreach efforts.”
Dr. Marcus frowned. “Dr. Campbell is a fine doctor. And she’s here in part to be mentored by me. She’s not going to do anything to intentionally harm anyone.”
Mason nodded. “She’s been great with the teens this week.” Not that he was happy about having one of them in her examining room. “If the wildfire is out by that point, I could spare some time for the open house. I’m sure a few of the other guys could, too.”
Dr. Marcus clapped another hand along his back and gestured to one of the patients in the waiting room. “Great. I’ve got to get back to work. Good seeing you, Mason. Trevor. I’ll see you Sunday at church.”
Mason nodded. Then he led the boy to his truck and headed down the road, already knowing where Trevor lived. Mason had been to the run-down house a few miles away a couple times to fix a broken heater and a leak in the roof. Mason also knew that Trevor’s mother wouldn’t be home right now. She was working tonight, either at the gas station down the street or at her second job caring for one of the elderly members of the church they both attended. She was a well-intentioned mother who had little time to invest in her son, at least if she wanted to keep him fed and clothed. What time she did invest, however, appeared to be quality time.
“So, tell me what really happened.” Mason glanced over at Trevor in the passenger seat of his truck.
“What’re you talking about?” the teen asked.
“If you got that sprain on a skateboard, where’s your skateboard?”
Trevor stiffened and his gaze averted out the passenger-side window.
That was what Mason thought. “We’ve talked about this. Fighting doesn’t resolve things.”
Trevor glanced back, but he didn’t say anything, which told Mason he was on to something.
“And neither does smoking.” Mason tipped his head at Trevor’s front pocket.
“You sound like that woman doctor you treated so bad back there.”
Mason stiffened now. “What are you talking about?”
“She was nice. Is it because she’s a girl?” Trevor asked.
“I don’t have a problem with girls being doctors. You know that. Besides, Dr. Campbell is a woman, not a girl.”
“A pretty one. Is that why you don’t like her? ’Cause she’s pretty?” Trevor was smiling now. The kid was too smart. Somehow in the first two minutes of their “talk,” he’d flipped the cards and was trying to shine the spotlight on Mason.
Mason frowned. “I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work. You’re trying to make me forget about lecturing you on those cigarettes and fighting. You know better than that. How’re you going to play pro basketball if you’re carrying around an oxygen tank?”
Trevor crossed his arms at his chest, then winced at the pain in his bandaged wrist. He leaned forward, looking at the surroundings outside the window. “I thought you said you were taking me home. This isn’t the way to my home.”
“I called your mom on the way to the health care clinic. Told her you’d be going to the Teen Center with me tonight if you checked out all right. And then Mr. Dave would be taking you home afterward. She agreed.”
From the corner of his eye, Mason could see Trevor trying not to smile. He liked the Teen Center. “Fine. You got ice there? Both of those doctors said to rest and ice my arm. Means you shouldn’t make me clean up when we’re done, either.”
Mason laughed. “Talk to Mr. Dave about that. I’m not staying. Not tonight.” He had something else he needed to do. Something that was suddenly weighing on him like a ton of bricks. He wasn’t a mean guy. The fact that Trevor had accused him of treating Lexie badly had convicted him just now. Lexie was just trying to help, which he admired about her—even if she was young and inexperienced, and he absolutely did not want her providing medical treatment for the people in his life.
* * *
Lexie finished writing in the last chart and released a long breath. They’d had a steady stream of people earlier in the morning, but the afternoon until closing had been slow. “I’m not sure you really needed me today,” she said, turning to Dr. Marcus as he walked into the room.
He sat in a rolling chair beside her and laughed. “I couldn’t have done today without you. I’m glad you’re here. I hope you know that.” His gaze narrowed.
Lexie shook her head as her mind trailed back to the incident with Trevor earlier in the afternoon. “I’m not sure everyone in town feels the same way.”
Dr. Marcus frowned. “You’re talking about Mason Benfield. Don’t take that personally. It’s not you. He...” Dr. Marcus’s brows knit tightly together as he considered what to say. “He hasn’t had the best of experiences with doctors.”
“He didn’t have a problem with you seeing Trevor.”
Dr. Marcus smiled warmly. “You didn’t learn this in school, but some people want a doctor to look a certain way. Whether it be male or female, old or young. There’s at least one person in this town that thinks it’s time for me to retire. She’s accused me of practicing ‘old medicine’ on her. I just have to shrug it off and do the very best I can for every patient who comes to see me. Sometimes that means letting someone else treat them.”
Lexie